(JUNEAU)- Governor Frank H. Murkowski today announced that he has appointed State Senator Alan Austerman of Kodiak to serve as his fisheries policy advisor. Austerman, who has been in the Alaska Legislature for eight years, resigned from the Senate today.

“Over the years during which he has served the public, both at the borough level and in the Legislature, Alan Austerman has developed an excellent working relationship with Alaska’s commercial fishing groups,” Murkowski said. “He has fished many species himself, so he knows what goes on out on the fishing grounds. He has also worked on fishing issues in the House and Senate, so he knows the politics of it. This is a challenging position, and the industry is facing difficult times. I am gratified – as I suspect many Alaskans are – that he would step down from the Senate to take on this job.”

Austerman, 59, has lived in Kodiak nearly all his life, having moved there with his parents as an infant. He is a 1961 graduate of Kodiak High School, and served seven years in the Alaska National Guard. He has worked as a commercial fisherman, fishing for salmon, shrimp, halibut and several species of crab. Austerman served on the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly for eight years before being elected to the Legislature in 1994. There, he served six years in the House and two in the Senate. In the House, he chaired the special committee on fisheries for four years.

Austerman has served on a variety of civic and service organizations, including Kodiak Jaycees, Kodiak Rodeo Association, Ducks Unlimited, Kodiak Chamber of Commerce, the Elks, the National Rifle Association, and Pioneers of Alaska. In addition to working as a commercial fisherman and longshoreman, Austerman has owned and operated a number of businesses, including a hunting and fishing lodge, a print shop, an office supply store and a newspaper, the Kodiak Times.

Austerman will start work at the Governor’s office on Tuesday, February 11. The position of fisheries policy advisor is newly created to allow Austerman to take a job with the administration without having to wait one year following termination of his legislative service.

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